Besian Mustafa was absent from the vote on the Assembly’s declaration regarding the Specialist Chambers’ verdict

Kosovo’s Assembly approved the declaration on the first-instance verdict issued by the Specialist Chambers in The Hague against former KLA leaders Hashim Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi, with 99 votes in favor, none against and no abstentions.

Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) MP Besian Mustafa, the son of LDK activist Xhemajl Mustafa, was not present in the chamber when the declaration was put to a vote.

According to information obtained by KosovaNews, Mustafa had attended the session but left the chamber before the vote took place.

The document approved by the Assembly consists of seven points.

In the first point, the Assembly expresses deep concern over the first-instance verdict issued against the former KLA leaders.

The second point of the declaration describes as unacceptable the finding that a joint criminal purpose existed.

In the third point, state institutions are called upon to take the necessary measures to preserve the truth and the integrity of the Kosovo people’s liberation war. It also calls for the drafting of a joint state strategy to coordinate legal, institutional and diplomatic actions.

The fourth point emphasizes that the existence of a joint criminal enterprise to expel Albanians from Kosovo during 1998–1999 was proven through the judgments of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia against the political, military and police leaders of Yugoslavia and Serbia.

Through the fifth point, the Specialist Chambers are called upon to exercise their mandate in accordance with the will of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo.

In the sixth point, the Assembly opposes any attempt to overturn what it calls Kosovo’s historical truth, to question the liberation war or to equate the people who fought for freedom and survival with the regime that oppressed them.

The final point emphasizes that the truth of the liberation war, justice for the victims and their families, and the defendants’ right to a fair trial all belong to the same Republic. The declaration states that the Assembly will protect all three.

The declaration was approved with 99 votes in favor, while there were no votes against and no abstentions.